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Edward Bramah was a tea taster
and commodity broker who established this fascinating museum
in the 1990s.
Housed in a former tea warehouse,
the small museum shows coffee and tea as drinks and commodities.
The history of tea and coffee drinking is illustrated, showing
the role of tea and coffee drinking in British society.
Coffee first arrived in London
in the 1640s and was popular among the brokers and traders
of the City. Within 30 years coffee houses had become
the unofficial trading centres, particularly for the developing
insurance trade.
The world's biggest insurance
market, Lloyd's
of London, takes its name from Edward Lloyd's coffee
house in Tower Street, where underwriters and shipowners met
to arrange marine insurance contacts.
Coffee was considered to be a
man's drink and for many years women were banned from coffee
houses.
Ladies were expected to drink
tea, which arrived in Europe at around the same time as coffee.
Charles II's wife, Catherine of Braganza, made tea popular
in London, allowing the development of the East India Company's
tea trade with China.
The museum has an impressive
collection of coffee-pots and teapots, including the world's
largest, holding 800 cups, and there is a collection of over
400 biscuit barrels.
Taste the real thing in the café
or buy samples from its tea and coffee shop.
Admission charge
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